Biotechnologies biocatalytic process

The expected contribution of catalysis in this area will derive both from the availability, at low processing costs, of new monomers obtained from biomasses and from the development of an optimized combination of biotechnology processes with classical and new biocatalytic processes. Research priorities for catalysis in the area of polymers from renewable materials for packaging, furniture, domestic water purification and recycling include the need to develop novel catalysts, e.g., for functionalization of polymeric and dendrimeric materials, with side-chain photoactive molecular switches (to be used as smart materials), or the development of multifunctional materials, combining, for example, nanofiltration with catalytic reactivity. 

The application of whole cells and isolated enzymes in the chemical industry is advancing rapidly, andmany companies areinvesting in so-called white biotechnology. That said, most of the biocatalytic processes are aimed at new compounds which are difficult to synthesize by conventional chemical routes. Replacing an existing chemical process with a biocatalytic route is trickier, because the new process must deliver the same quality of product (or better), at a lower overall cost. The existing process has an advantage here, since its capital costs are already repaid. Thus, in order... 

Oxygen electrodes are being used for the direct determination of oxygen concentration in biomedicine and biotechnological processes. For the development of biosensors they can be combined with a large number of biocatalytic processes such as the respiration of microorganisms, plant photosynthesis, and oxidase-catalyzed reactions. 

Hydrolases were in the first catalogue after the company was founded in 1950 but, not surprisingly, the chiral molecules originated mainly from the chiral pool. The first biocatalytic reactions were developed with kidney acylases and later with esterases and lipases, in the beginning mainly animal-derived biocatalysts [10], The set-up of in-house biocatalyst production from microbial and plant sources as well as the construction of a new biotechnology laboratory with ten fermenters of up to 300 L total volume, allow the development and production of improved biocatalysts and for them to be applied in the asymmetric synthesis of laboratory chemicals. There are today more than 100 biocatalytic processes in routine production and a project management team is handling custom biotransformations. 

Another alternative for the desulfurization of liquid fuels involves biotechnological and biocatalytic processes. These processes are based on bacterial strains, the metabolism of which can convert carbon-rich sulfur compounds. Through a series of enzyme catalytic reactions, the strains remove the sulfur from the hydrocarbon compounds without altering the carbon skeleton [74] (see Figure 34.8). 

The use of RTILs is promising in the area of biotechnology, particularly in chemistry involving biocatalytic processes. A variety of examples have shown the application of RTILs in biocatalytic processes in recent reviews [79, 80]. In the reaction converting 1,3-dicyanobenzene to 3-cyanobenzamide and 3-cyanobenzoic acid catalyzed by whole cells of Rhodococcus R312, the biphasic 1-butyl, 3-methyl imidazolium hexafluorophosphate/water medium decreases the substrate and the product inhibition observed in water by acting as a reservoir for the substrate and product [81]. In another example, an isolated enzyme has been used to catalyze reactions in IL medium [82]. 

Biotechnology has attracted enormous interest and high expectations over the past decade. However, the implementation of new technologies into industrial processes has been slower than initially predicted. Although biocatalytic methods hold great industrial potential, there are relatively few commercial applications of biocatalysts in organic chemical synthesis. The main factors that limit the application of biocatalysts are ... 

Biocatalytic Deracemization Dynamic Resolution, Stereoinversion, Enantioconvergent Processes and Cyclic Deracemization, in Biocatalysts in the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology industries, (ed. R.N. Patel), CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp. 27-51. 

Goldberg, K., Schroer, K., Luetz, S. and Liese, A. (2007) Biocatalytic ketone reduction - a powerful tool for the production of chiral alcohols -part I processes with isolated enzymes. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 76, 237-248. 

Buhler, B. and Schmid, A. (2004) Process implementation aspects for biocatalytic hydrocarbon oxyfunctiona-lization. Journal of Biotechnology, 113, 183-210. 

A general review of continuous processing/process intensification in the pharmaceutical industry has been made by Rubin ef a. [22], while the use of PI novel technologies to reshape the petrochemical and biotechnology industries has been analyzed by Hahn [23] and Akay [24], respectively. Recent advances in biotechnology process intensification have also been reviewed by Choe ef al. [25] and Akay et al. [26]. The use of monoliths as biocatalytic reactors to achieve PI by smart gas-liquid contact has been reviewed by Kreutzer ef al. [27]. 

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